Melody, melody, and more melody.

[AdroitMage]

There are many ways to increase melodic awareness. For me the use of melodic patterns in all keys and positions.

Some may think this too basic and a more advanced method is sought after. Some time when I teach and a student says they want a more
challenging approach. OK how about a Coltrane pattern..1 2 3 5..thats simple is an expected reply.

Really..Ok do it for every scale degree in every key and position..then for various progressions..ii7 V7 I7 then iii7 vi7 ii7 V7 I7 then chromatic and secondary cycles

then choose ONE tune and play that in all keys.

This of course turns out to be ALOT of work. I also highly recommend writing this down to reinforce reading and memory exercise.

If this is done as a regular approach to melodic development along with rhythmic variations of the patterns..improvement will happen.

Considering that there are hundreds of patterns..and ways to incorporate this kind of study. Your being able to identify the location and interval of chord
notes becomes part of this process so the melodic techniques of enclosing and other ways to enhance a melody note develop naturally.

singing is optional..

Hey, this is a good idea.

[AdroitMage]

Hey, you can do whatever you like, and if it works for you, then don't let anyone tell you it isn't the "right way" to do it, because their is no right way to do it, there's only what works for U.

Some of you people crack me up, you seem to think that I think my opinion is "god like" or something. The truth is, though, I just think t's my opinion. I've been playing for a minute, if that lends any credibility to what I write in here?

I'm just trying to lend something constructive to the convo that might even help make a student turn into a better player in some way. If some guy sings while he plays and it works great for him, more power to him, I really don't care. Just trying to be constructive in the convo because I've been doing this a minute.

[RobSilver7]

… when playing the guitar, my first principles have always centered around the idea that what I'm really doing is "singing through my hands". That perspective for me clarifies a multitude of things - what to sound like, how to do it, how to make it work, how to make it work in context with other things, how to judge how well it worked, etc... all about the cycle of listening, singing and fingering, then listening, evaluation, and judgement.

This seems to me exactly right and is what I aspire to. And it conforms with some conversations I’ve had with jazz artists (Jim Hall, for example). I caught him at a master class and he implied that when he performed it was “music all the way down” — music in his head traveling out to his hands via his ears. No “concepts” such as “what scale?”. Just music. The concepts come up at practice time but not during performance.